Gita: Bhakti Yoga - Verse 9

Hari Aum

Prostrations to my Guru and Prostrations to all



Word Meaning:
aTha: If
chittam: the mind
samaaDhaatum: to fix
na: not
shaknosi: are able
mayi: in Me
sThiram: steadily
abhyaasa yogena: by the Yoga of constant practice
thathaha: then
maam: Me
ichchaa: wish
aapthum: to reach
Dhananjaya: O Dhananjaya

If our are unable to fix your mind steadily upon Me, then by the Yoga of constant practice seek to reack Me, O Dhananjaya.

In the previous sloka Krishna declared the techniques to reach the Lord. It is mentioned in the previous sloka that one has to fix the mind in the Lord only. But it is not easy for everyone as the natural tendency of the mind is to outward. It is not easy to concentrate on a particular thing straight away as one should have the single-pointed mind and the subtle intellect to really live in Lord. By nature the mind will always extroverted. Understanding this limitation, one should continuously practice control the mind. This is what Krishna says aBhyaasa Yoga.
Initially it is not possible for devotee to have constant thought of god all the time. Therefore one should practice it without giving up. One should make the conscious effort of bringing the mind back to the Lord if it goes out. On doing such practice continuously, concentration develops and hence thinking of the lord becomes as easy as breathing and hence will reach a stage when we cannot remain without the thought of god. Till one reach that stage, one has to practice continuously without bothering much on the failures. This is what Krishna says in the sloka as aBhyaasa yoga.

Hari Aum

Thanks,
Rajesh